4 JULY 2016. An eruption of Mount Sinabung, in the Karo district of North Sumatra province, on Sunday (3 JULY) at 18:29 pm, brought harm to the citizens of Medan. Most of Medan is experiencing fallout of thin volcanic ash, an alarming sight for motorists and pedestrians at night.
The Head of Data Information and Public Relations of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Mr Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that the eruption was not too large, had a high column of ash at 1,500 meters, then the wind blew it gently to the East-Southeast. “Volcanic ash material was carried by the wind and deposited over the city of Medan,” said Sutopo in a written statement, to the Press.
Mr Sutopo also said that Mount Sinabung’s volcanic activity is still very high and that the potential for subsequent eruptions also remains high. On Sunday (3 JULY) there were three eruptions, 38 pyroclastic and rock flows, 10 low-frequency earthquakes, and two hybrid earthquakes.

According to Mr Sutopo, lava was observed as far as 700-1000 meters towards South-East and as far as 1000 meters towards South-East. “We have observed incandescent lava down to 1,000 m in the direction of Southeast-East,” said Sutopo.
Sutopo also added that because the volcanic activity is still high, the status of Mount Sinabung is still at AWAS. Recommendations from PVMBG, are that the general public and visitors are prohibited from conducting activities within a radius of 3 km from the summit.
“People within 7 km to the South-East sector, 6 km to the Southeast-East sector, and 4 km to the North-Northeast sector are to be evacuated to a safe location. That is, it is a red zone area that is very dangerous and should be vacated, “he said.

Until today, there are 9319 people (2,592 heads of household) who sought refuge in nine shelters. They will celebrate the end of Ramadan in the evacuation. In addition, there are still 1,683 families of four villages living in shelters pending the relocation process. They are residents of the villages of Desa Berastepu, Gamber, Kota Tonggal, Gurukinayan declared a red zone and should be relocated.

The community is urged to comply with all restrictions. The red zone is a very dangerous area. People are not to conduct any activity in the red zone.